Impact

Impact Newsletter Archive

The holidays are an opportunity to share good cheer with family and friends. However, they also are a time when people get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, making themselves vulnerable to theft and other crime. Don’t let a Grinch ruin your holidays!

Several UTMB employees received President David Callender’s Way to Go Award during the Nov. 1 Town Hall. Lonnie Winston and Seth Grimes, materials handling techs, were recognized for their actions going above and beyond to ensure a young patient at Jennie Sealy Hospital received a special package.

Every morning between 8 and 9 a.m., groups of interdisciplinary teams meet at all inpatient units in Galveston, League City and Angleton Danbury to discuss each and every patient in the hospital. They’re called “Progression of Care Rounds,” or POCR (pronounced “poker”) rounds, and for the past year, they have been making a difference in both patient outcomes and length of stay.

UTMB recently announced that the Health System has received an “A” grade from the Leapfrog Group for its accomplishments in reducing errors, infections and accidents that have the potential to harm patients.

During Hurricane Harvey, Dr. Maria Belalcazar saw firsthand how a natural disaster can devastate a community. So when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September, leaving residents without power and running water—and hospitals without supplies—she wanted to do whatever she could to help.

It's 8 a.m. on a Saturday and Kim Barfield is in the midst of two days of nonstop receptions, luncheons, speakers and reunion dinners. More than 400 UTMB alumni and their guests have descended upon the San Luis Resort in Galveston for Homecoming Weekend—an October event that Barfield, assistant director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, and her team have been preparing for all year.

A recent employee survey aimed to find out whether employees prefer the print or online edition of Impact, how they access it, what types of articles they like most and what suggestions they may have for improving the newsletter. After combing through more than 1,000 responses and taking notes on what you love—and don’t love—about Impact, it’s time to reveal the results.

Gary Eubank joined UTMB Correctional Managed Care’s management team in 2005. In his role as chief nursing officer, he oversees the nursing services provided to approximately 120,000 offenders at 83 prisons in the UTMB sector.

There’s no question—Dr. Ruth Levine has always loved teaching. “When I see students get that ‘spark’ of understanding and start putting things together, it’s exciting for them—and me,” said Levine, assistant dean for educational affairs and director of the Office of Clinical Education within the School of Medicine. “Any kind of learning should be fun. If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.”

Stephanie Tutak is inspired by Dr. Hector P. Garcia’s story, his commitment to service and his role in improving access to health care. So when the fourth-year medical student was named the winner of the 2017 Hector P. Garcia, M.D. Cultural Competence Award during the annual luncheon Oct. 6 on the Galveston Campus, she felt honored to play a part in carrying out his legacy.

UTMB’s Interprofessional Scholars Program recently hosted its first Disaster Day, a student-led, large-scale simulation aimed at preparing and educating health care professional students on responding to a crisis.

As you attend family gatherings this holiday season, don’t just ask your loved ones to pass the turkey. Ask them about their health history. It’s the perfect time to gather important information that you and your doctors can use to create a plan for preventing disease.

September 5, 1957—that was Adeline Smith’s first day as a nurse’s aide on UTMB’s Galveston Campus. She would later transfer to UTMB’s Food and Nutrition Services team. Now, 60 years later, she’s still feeding patients and bringing a smile to everyone she meets—with no immediate retirement plans.

On Oct. 16, I had the pleasure of joining our UTMB family in celebrating the prestigious national honor our university received for superior quality and care provided to our patients—the 2017 Vizient Bernard Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award.

Dr. Mayukh Sarkar, a medical laboratory scientist in UTMB’s Department of Pathology, was recognized as a 2017 “Choosing Wisely Champion” by the American Society for Clinical Pathology during its annual meeting Sept. 6-8 in Chicago.

Adding value to patient care is on the mind of nearly every health care organization across the country. As we shift from a volume-based to a value-based health care world, improving outcomes and reducing costs has become critically important.

Growing up during an era with an active space program, Dr. Joan Nichols and Dr. Joaquin Cortiella were fascinated by space. Now, she and Cortiella, a professor and physician in the Department of Anesthesiology at UTMB, are having the chance to live a childhood dream.

UTMB was among 12 U.S. academic health centers to receive the 2017 Vizient Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award on Sept. 14. Based on the final results of our Vizient survey, UTMB now ranks ninth among 107 participating organizations and has achieved 5-star performance.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center recently notified UTMB that it had met the criteria of the Magnet Recognition Program, which distinguishes health care organizations that meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence. This credential is the highest honor for professional nursing practice.

Whether it’s sniffles, aches and pains or bumps and bruises, UTMB Health’s Urgent Care clinics are open evenings and weekends to bring you relief. Located near you and staffed by UTMB physicians and medical professionals, these sites provide quality care and prompt attention for injuries and illnesses that are not life threatening.

Three of the scariest words in the English language are, “You have cancer.”
“You don’t hear anything after that,” said Dr. Avi Markowitz, chief of hematology and oncology at UTMB. But thanks to a UTMB program called Taking the Message and the Medicine Home, the university is improving communication between patients, families and care providers.

All it takes is 20 minutes for Heather Fields to help a woman take control of her breast health. “A mammogram is the best way to detect breast cancer early—when it is most treatable,” said Fields, a breast imaging technologist at UTMB’s Angleton Danbury Campus. “It only takes a few minutes and it saves lives.”

Rev. José Cedillo joined UTMB in May 2016 as director of Pastoral Care. An ordained bishop with the Church of God, Cedillo provides support for the spiritual, religious, emotional and value concerns of patients, families and staff.

The focus on interprofessional education has been a foundational part of UTMB’s Academic Enterprise since it was introduced at the institution in 2008. Interprofessional education—or IPE as it’s commonly called—was introduced as part of Synergy, UTMB’s quality enhancement plan.

Twenty-six UTMB faculty, staff and students recently received UTMB President’s Cabinet awards for projects that promote outreach, education and improved patient care in the community and beyond. The 11 funded projects total more than $243,000.